FATHER KNOWS BEST Robert Villency with his wife

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BEST LIFE
DECEMBER 2008/JANUARY 2009
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FATHER KNOWS BEST
Robert Villency with his
wife, Rowann, circa 1955,
and with his son Eric at
their home in Southampton,
New York, September 2008
(opposite page)
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ike many teenagers, I looked forward all week to
lazy Saturday mornings—you know, the kind
where you surf your snooze button until noon.
Growing up in my house though, sleeping late
wasn’t always on the agenda. One of my most
vivid memories springs from when I was 14. My
game plan had been simple enough: Sleep in,
grab lunch, stroll over to Central Park to play
football with my buddies. But then a loud rustling awoke me at
7 A.M. Through bleary eyes, I could make out a muscular intruder
standing in my room, holding a large object.
My visitor’s identity was unmistakable: Dad. Standing in front of
the posters on my bedroom walls, he took his place among sports
stars and action heroes. There they were: LT, Mark Bavaro, Patrick
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Ewing, Conan the Barbarian, and…my dad, Robert Villency, 55
years old, wearing his battle uniform: Adidas shorts that John
Stockton would judge too short, tube socks, bare chest. In place
of a sword, he was holding a (very large) trophy. No, this wasn’t
the ’70s, but that’s how dad rolled—and still rolls. He clearly had
something on his mind after his morning workout, but Dad being
Dad, I knew I’d have to coax it out of him.
Me: “Hey, Pop, what’s up?”
Him: “Not much, just worked out.”
Me: “Uh, what’s that in your hand?”
Him: “Oh, this?” looking at the five-foot trophy as if I had just
pointed out the missing glasses perched atop his head. “Yeah, just
won the national chin-up championship…again. You working out
today, kid?” ››
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THE ROBERT
VILLENCY RULES
DAD’S OLD-SCHOOL LOGIC IS SIMPLE:
NEVER GIVE YOURSELF AN EXCUSE. IF
YOU HAVE A ROUTINE THAT DOESN’T RELY
ON TOO MUCH EQUIPMENT, THEN YOU
HAVE NO REASON TO MISS A WORKOUT
WHEN YOU’RE TRAVELING.
From an early age, my father made
exercise and sports not just part of the
family lifestyle, but the foundation of our
relationship. I gradually became aware
that my father was fanatical—and quirky—
about fitness. His way of discussing the
finer points of exercise has always been
more about “show” than “tell.” We worked
out together every summer. I remember
long runs on hot days: me with my new-age
Nike Airs that always managed to elicit
a look of disdain from my old man, him
with his wrist weights and Sauconys that
looked as if he’d fished them out of a trash
bin. I’d keep up for a mile or two before
I fell behind. There wasn’t a whole lot of
conversation, just the of thrum of shoes
hitting pavement. Once, on a blazing day,
I went out too fast and made the mistake
of stopping. Dad saw me walking as he
lapped me. He never said anything, but the
disappointment etched on his face told me
all I needed to know.
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BEST LIFE
DECEMBER 2008/JANUARY 2009
Stick With What Works for You
Yes, muscles adapt to specific
exercises, but that doesn’t mean you
should abandon an exercise or
machine. Take the Roman chair. My
father swears by it. You don’t see them
much anymore, but he seeks them out.
If you find something that works and
it’s not causing you pain, stick with it.
Go Slow and Steady
Slow, controlled movements are the
key to working to failure while
avoiding injury. My dad applies this
mantra to everything from pull-ups to
push-ups: a four count on the way
down, a four count on the way up.
Create Your Own Battle Flag
Since medieval days, soldiers have
been motivated and rallied by the
symbols of uniforms and flags. My
father’s thinking on the subject of
attire is that a shirt has no business in
the gym or during a run, unless it is
winter. If it is winter, you may adorn
your logo-free battleship-gray sweats
with a white towel wrapped around
your neck. Also, why did they invent
spandex? And are they planning on
making a version for men? Many great
athletes, from Jerry Rice to Rafael
Nadal, take pride in having their
uniforms just so. If you get your gear
straight, you’ll be surprised how it
keeps your head in the game when
you suit up.
Treat Business Trips Like Prison
My father taught me to use the
solitude to work out and read. When
you’re on the road, you’re away from
the temptation of home (munching
hot-dogs with your kids and sipping
after-work cocktails with friends). A
business trip is a good time to go dry
and sneak in extra exercise.
Find Your Mick or Apollo
Only the most dedicated self-starters
can work out consistently without
someone pushing them. Find
someone who will help you stay the
course, whether it’s a buddy or family
member who offers encouragement,
or a fantasy of competing against that
jerk from the office. Find a way to
keep your powder dry.
Race Off Jet Lag
On the first international business trip I
ever took, my father explained to me
why he doesn’t suffer from jet lag:
exercise. He makes sure to get in a run
the first morning he’s in a different time
zone, and then he says he is perfectly
in sync. I have been following this
advice for a decade, hitting the
pavement in countless foreign places,
whether it means joining the “black
lung” runners in Shanghai, China, or
dodging traffic in Milan, Italy. I always
make it a point to get some roadwork
in when I’m on the road. E . V .
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près jog, however, the real fun
began. Dad always insisted
that we live in a home with
built-in pull-up and dip bars.
He relished his calisthenics
routines. He believed that dips were the
best upper-body exercise you could do,
closely followed by push-ups and chinups. He taught me that form is the most
important thing to focus on. Dad always
talked about how Olympic gymnasts built
strength and muscle simply by lifting their
own bodies in slow, controlled movements.
He made it clear that there’s a right way to
do things, and that’s the way they should
be done. He disdained guys who did “curls
for the girls” (you know, biceps-for-thebeach kind of thing); for him, fitness was all
about real-world applications.
My father grew up in Lynbrook, New
York. His father, Maurice, was Scottish
and never really developed a fondness for
American sports. Dad did, and then some.
He went on to play football at Princeton
(they actually boasted Heisman winners
back then), where, as he likes to remind
me, they ran the single wing. To this day,
when we’re watching a game, I can see
he doesn’t hold the forward pass in much
regard. I’ve mentioned to him that running
it up the middle every play might not
make for the most compelling viewing,
but he just shrugs. It worked for him, so
he sees no need for change. After college,
he served in the 77th Infantry, where he
finished first in the fitness test for his
division, among other exploits. In 1961, he
took over the family design business, but
that didn’t soften his physique.
Dad began a regimen of working out
365 days a year, with several twice-a-days
thrown in, and he makes no allowances for
weather or life’s misfortunes (the day of his
knee surgery, he made it a point to work
out and go into the office). Later, just to
keep his powder dry, Dad entered and won
several national chin-up championships
(only for his age-group, I like to remind
him). But it’s hard to argue with his results.
He’s 70 years old now, and bear hugs still
thud off his muscular frame. And every
birthday, he adds a push-up and sit-up rep
to his workout.
I realize I’m not my father, and not
just because I can’t bang out three sets
of 25 chin-ups. The guy has a robotic
determination that I both admire and find
odd. If he has a 6:30 flight to catch, he will
knock out his complete routine at 3:30 A.M.
Honestly? I am going sleep in and come
back strong the next day. In my relationship
with exercise, the biggest key is to view
it with a long-term outlook. I don’t count
how many days a week I’m at the gym, but
rather how many days a month I exercise.
I don’t train to hit a certain weight or look
a certain way, because inevitably when
the goal is achieved, it’s binge time. At this
stage in life, I know when I am in shape,
and you can’t fool yourself (or your father).
I like to think I’ve incorporated the best
elements of Pop’s routine with some of the
new developments in fitness (yes, Dad,
there have been some). I like to work with
Use these principles to get
the most out of your workouts and
business trips
FAMILY BUSINESS
The Villencys follow
separate but equally
challenging routines at
their home gym.
weights a few times a week, but I also
make sure I get in my dips and push-ups,
and I frequently hang from bars. Dad’s
old-school logic is simple: Never give
yourself an excuse. If you have a routine
that doesn’t rely on too much equipment,
then you have no reason to miss a workout
when you’re traveling. For me, that’s a big
deal because I’m on the road 60 days a
year; I need a workout I can do anywhere
and in 30 minutes. To keep it fresh, I also
bike, run, and yes, hit the elliptical (even
though it looks dumb).
The truth is that now I can outrun my
father, but that hasn’t stopped him from
slinging zingers. His recent house-warming
gift to my wife and me was a photo of
himself when he was 18, with his shirt off.
Aside from the comic relief it provided, I
came to realize it was his little motivational
tool, as if to say, “Hey, kid, it’s real cushy
around here with the wife and child and all.
Don’t get lazy or I’ll rub your nose in your
slothlike existence.” Rocky had the Mick.
I have my old man.
The flair and strangeness of my father’s
routines have served as great lessons
about individuality and sticking to your
For the complete “No Time? No Problem!” workout,
GO TO BESTLIFEONLINE.COM/VILLENCYWORKOUT
THE “NO TIME? NO PROBLEM!” WORKOUT
A super-fast, no-frills, total-body plan for the successful man
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Remember those days in college when you could hit your chest and triceps one day, and your back
and biceps the next? Well, if you’re like me, those days are long gone. Once you start juggling a
demanding job, a family, and endless hours at the airport, no muscle group has its own special day
anymore. Busy guys need fast, effective workouts that hit as many muscles as possible in as little
time as possible. That’s why I went to trainer Steve Steinberg, owner of Boston’s Black Belt Fitness
Personal Training, who specializes in creating workouts for guys with no spare time.
“The two circuits below offer a total-body workout. Each one alternates between upper-body and
lower-body moves to maximize workout density without overfatiguing the muscles,” says
Steinberg. The result is more strength in less time. Start with circuit A, moving from one exercise to
the next without rest until you’ve done them all. Then rest for one minute before beginning the
circuit again. Repeat with the exercises in circuit B. I don’t strive for a certain number of reps, but
rather make sure that each exercise is challenging enough to keep my count below 10 (unless I’m
doing push-ups, in which case I shoot for 25). My set is complete when my form starts to falter. The
entire workout should take 30 minutes. E . V .
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principles, and they filled my childhood
with laughs. I now understand he was in
on the joke the whole time. Staring down
at my young son, it dawns on me: I can’t
wait to share my fitness philosophy and
introduce him to the Roman chair. And yes,
kid, shirts really are optional.
Recently, I found myself in Cologne,
Germany, on a foggy winter morning.
My hotel was close to a park along the
Rhine River, and I set out for my 6 A.M.
run. Unsurprisingly, given that it was the
dead of winter, I was alone on the jogging
trail. With my iPod blaring, I felt a twinge
of American pride as I thought to myself,
Yeah, Germany, this is how we do it in the
U.S of A! While you guys are sleeping and
enjoying your 16 weeks of paid vacation,
we’re working out! Somewhere between
“Eye of the Tiger” and “In da Club,” I heard
the bark.
Primal fear stirred, the kind that only
antelopes in the Serengeti and foolish
American joggers experience. Two
German shepherds were racing down
the trail straight at me. At this point, I was
really sorry about all that U.S.A. chanting
in my head, but nonetheless, the canines
were closing in. It’s a funny thing what
one will do when faced with a mauling. I
launched myself off the trail and into the
river. Luckily for me, the water was only
about five feet deep—enough to save me
from the dogs, if not salvage my pride.
Dripping head to toe and shivering, I
made an awkward entry into the lobby of
my hotel, mustering up a nonchalant nod
to the stunned concierge. As I headed
up to my room, I could only chuckle as I
mouthed my father’s inevitable reaction to
what had transpired: “So you didn’t finish
the run?” ®
WARM-UP
Ten minutes of bicycling, jumping rope, or
using the elliptical machine.
CIRCUIT A
Push-ups
Squats
Dips
Hanging Leg Raises
CIRCUIT B
Pull-ups
Dead Lifts
Dumb-bell Chest Presses
Bicycle Crunches
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